


Sillicate Rhombus

by Velgrauder



Series: Sillicate Rhombus [2]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drawn shittily on MS Paint, Original Character(s), Original Universe, Unrelated to Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:48:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22962670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Velgrauder/pseuds/Velgrauder
Summary: If you throw enough things at the wall, something ought to stick. Follow the Modulated Gems and the rest of the Gem Empire as they try to regain their status in the intergalactic scene.
Series: Sillicate Rhombus [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1650166





	Sillicate Rhombus

Although the walls were plastered with a myriad of screens showcasing all sorts of cool-esque battle sequences, the sights of the three scientist gems, creators of the modulators: Tourmaline, Alexandrite, and Peridot, were firmly set in Yellow Diamond's letter which, for some demented reason, were all reading it from the same screen.

—Y’all done reading? —Tourmaline preemptively asked before scrolling down the page, thing that was pretty much a futile endeavor given than the last words visible on the screen were “from the office of Yellow Diamond”, followed by her signature right down below.

There was a slight silence in the room after that. The gems were giving themselves a couple of seconds to digest whatever it was that was on the letter.

—So the modulators were not flashy enough...? —Alexandrite broke the silence, confusion clear in her voice.

—What do they mean not flashy enough? —Peridot asked to no one in specific—. We gave non-combat gems the ability to stand on par with the average foot soldier! How is that not flashy enough?!

—Well, about half of them are soldiers anyway, so I guess doesn’t amount to much —Tourmaline said—. But I think you're misinterpreting. Blue Diamond must have meant that: “Oh, so all they can do is fight now?” Given how she makes things in the Parliament roll, she must want something of a different substance.

—Well, some of the modulated gems can do some rather interesting stuff —Alexandrite’s eyes went from here to there on the wall of screens, stopping at nothing in particular—. Like that topaz there.

—Yeah, and what did Yellow Diamond meant with “White is rooting for the topaz”? Now that I think about it —Peridot said.

—I... don’t know. I'll simply maintain my opinion that all the gems in the Ministry are useless. Their existence simply being a necessary evil —Tourmaline answered.

—Quite the way to think given that you made Topaz's modulator —Alexandrite added.

Tourmaline sighed. Her shoulders slumping along her faux exhalation of air.

—Well, at least we will be able to do some field testing for those non-combat purposes... In what places exactly? — Alexandrite leaned forward towards the console and scrolled through the letter until she found that exact piece of information—. ”The places and times where you’ll be able to engage in field-testing will be disclosed at a later date, when the changes in supply and trade routes are made. In the meantime, feel free to...”-- _ ahhhhh _ ... 

—So, we don't have even that —Peridot said once Alexandrite stopped emitting white noise.

—It’ll be better if we focused on exploring the modulators’ potential first —Tourmaline reassured her. Or at least tried to.

—Still. It would have been nice to have some sort of lodestar or north or goal for that. Outside the obvious all of this combat footage is now worthless.

—Guess so —Tourmaline leaned back in her chair, her mind sinking in thought for a moment—. Did anyone forward the letter to Jadeite?

—I did —Alexandrite said.

—Y’did? Good... Good.

There was another brief moment of silence.

—Well, back to work I guess.

* * *

After announcing today's schedule through the loudspeaker system that ran through whatever facility the Modulated Gems were dwelling right now (and also with a detailed file sent to each gem's PDA. But come on, it's just hasn't the same punch as get yelled at from the sky by some disembodied voice) the gruntwork started ASAP. But our first heart-to-heart is not going to be between any character that has had a spoken line before. Instead, we'll focus on these two:

You see, Jasper here was hit with a most unusual request by our ever-so-noun Alexandrite: to teach Sapphire how to fight:

—Y’see, when I read Yellow Diamond's performance report about Sapphire —Alexandrite explained to the mighty orange gem— she said that it was, quote unquote, “borderline pathetic” and that “if she could only handle the lowest level of danger she could at least do it with the grace of a gem her class.”

—Huh. Sounds though —Jasper said—. But didn’t the report you sent us said that we would focus on the non-combat capabilities of the modulators?

—Oh, wow! You... you read that —Alexandrite was taken aback by the quartz's competence—. S'll right. Yeah, I know that but if--but if you could at least teach her the basics while I'm working with Wulfenite that--that would be great. I mean, I could have asked Emerald but, uh--

—Oh! No! It's fine! It's fine! —the prospect of offending or disrespecting a higher-class gem sent Jasper into a panic.

—...But Emeralds are mostly pilot gems and, and you're a foot soldier and all...

—It’s--it's fine!

—I heard you're a great jasper!

—Oh! It's not, uh--

—The second best there is in the whole Empire!

Jasper clenched her teeth to those words. Hard.

— _ It’s nothing! _

—So... could you?

And that's where we are right now.

So, with a clear path etched in her heart, Jasper went to Undisclosed Location Number A to Undisclosed Location Number B, where Sapphire was.

—Uh, hello? —Jasper said out loud, her voice slightly muffled by the sound of the sliding doors closing behind her.

—Hi.

Waiting patiently, sitting on the floor in the middle of the room, Sapphire greeted her soon-to-be instructor. She gently stood up and carefully stumbled all the way to where Jasper was, her arms sometimes leaving her sides to flail about, reaching nowhere.

—Whoa! Careful there —Jasper was slightly taken aback by the clumsy movements of Sapphire, who seemed to be falling face-first into the ground just about any other time.

—I’m okay. Don't--

—You sure?

—Yeah. Don’t worry.

—Okay... —Jasper was obviously not convinced—. So, can I assume Alexandrite filled you in?

—Yes. I have spent the time so far preparing myself mentally for this. But still, I can't help but feel a little nervous.

— _ Awww! _ Don't be.

—How can't I! Specially against someone with your curriculum! Also size. I'm not really made to fight, either.

—Ehem. I guess... Wait. You’ve read about me?

—Skimmed it. Just the cliff notes, really.

—Well, I just don’t know what to say —Jasper was taken aback by the compliment, not being used to be praised by a natural A-Class—. But I suppose it should come as no surprise, since we all lean a little bit towards the admirable, after all.

—Yeah! ...We really don’t.

After an awkward chortle between the two, Jasper took a good look at her pupil. She was indistinct from just about any other sapphire she had ever seen in her whole life, except that she was way scrawnier... somehow. Up above her three noodle limbs of a body was Sapphire's modulator: The Psycho Helmet Act 2: a featureless metal skull with a mouth hole and a neck hole, and which residing within was her gem.

Jasper saw her insecurities as a teacher, whichever those may be, reflected back at her by Sapphire's shiny metal face, and it was then when it hit her:

—Um, Sapphire...?

—Yes?

—Um, well, can you even see with than thing on?

—Nope.

—You can’t?! Then why do you have it on?

—Well, since my poor performance fighting was while I had my modulator on, I thought that I should train while wearing it. Why, you're not wearing yours? —Sapphire then touched her temple, but only for a moment—. You're not...

—Well, I fight pretty much the same with my modulator on as without, so I guess it doesn't matter as much. Heh, how did you know that I didn't had my modulator on? Did you see a future where you took off your modulator to see me or something?

—Wha--? No. You see, the way the modulator works is that I perceive my surroundings with my Future Vision, making an estimate of the sensations that I would feel if I wandered around the room for a while. I just envisioned a future where I felt you up and... um, w-well...!

—Really?! Woah! —The implications of possible future molestation went completely over Jasper’s head. Or maybe her expression of surprise wasn’t due to the mod on Sapphire’s powers. She was talking to a natural A-Class, after all—. ...Wait, “sensations”? So you're completely blind? Your visions have no images at all?

—No, they don’t. And honestly it has been really hard to adapt. It is the complete opposite of my normal Future Vision.

Jasper was in complete awe and at a loss of words, mostly out of ignorance in both fronts.

—Hey, and if you can't see jackshit with that thing on then how are you able to dodge incoming fire?

—Well, I just feel what would happen if I just stood in a single place doing nothing.

—And what do you feel?

—...Mostly dread.

With those words all of Jasper's insecurities melted away, the negative feelings floating away as vapor and leaving behind only a lukewarm soup of wonder. Jasper's mind went into overdrive, with all sorts of training scenarios racing through her head, almost all of them being so absurd that they could be described as no other way than fiction-beyond-fiction. But before she could realize just how out of their element both of them were, Jasper had to teach Sapphire the basics.

—Well that’s quite an interesting story you got there. So! —Jasper slammed her fist into her open palm—. Ready to start training?!

—No but like I have a choice!

—Sweet! But first hold on a sec.

Jasper reached for her gem, which glowed with an orange light once her palm was a couple centimeters away. Focusing her mind, Jasper reached into the innards of herself, searching...

Searching and searching for... Wait.

Wait. Wait. There! She got it! Got it.

—Yup! Here it is! —Japer whirled, twirled, and threw the staff around in the air, as if Sapphire could see any of that—. You said you were ready?


End file.
